This
web site is intended to serve agencies, watershed groups, and individuals
interested in helping to protect and restore water quality along
California's coast.

The Critical Coastal Areas (CCA) Program is an innovative
program to foster collaboration among local stakeholders and government
agencies, to better coordinate resources and focus efforts on coastal
watersheds in critical need of protection from polluted runoff.
A multi-agency statewide CCA Committee has identified an initial
list of 101 CCAs along the coast and in San Francisco Bay.

The Problem of Polluted Runoff

Throughout California’s diverse 1,100-mile
coast, there is a growing awareness of the problem of
polluted runoff in our coastal waters—our rivers
and estuaries, lakes and lagoons, bays and ocean. Polluted
runoff is generated by a variety of land use activities,
including urban development, agriculture, and forestry.
Many of our coastal waters are degraded or threatened
by polluted runoff—also known as Nonpoint
source (NPS) pollution—which harms aquatic
ecosystems, public health, and the local economy.

Seeking Solutions to Pollution

What’s being done to find solutions
to polluted runoff along California’s coast?
Myriad
local and regional interest groups are active in water
quality protection and restoration efforts in coastal
watersheds. Many cities have urban runoff control programs,
and at least 28 state agencies have responsibilities in
carrying out the state’s plan for controlling NPS
pollution (NPS Plan).

How Does the CCA Program Work?

The CCA Program, part of the state's NPS Plan, is a non-regulatory
planning tool to coordinate the efforts of multiple agencies
and stakeholders, and direct resources to CCAs. The program’s
goal is to ensure that effective NPS management measures
are implemented to protect or restore coastal water quality
in CCAs. CCA identification supports the acquisition of
grant funding by prioritizing protection efforts.

CCA Action Plan

Beginning with five
pilot CCAs, the CCA Program will form teams of
local stakeholders (watershed groups, special interest
organizations, and community members) and government
agencies (state, federal, and local) to develop
community-based CCA Action Plans for addressing
polluted runoff that threatens coastal resources
within these CCAs.

The Action Plan will
integrate and build on existing local watershed
protection and restoration efforts, identify needs
and available resources, focus the attention of
responsible agencies, and coordinate with other
relevant water quality protection programs.